2A Prep Girls Soccer: R.A. Long silenced at State in 1-0 loss to North Kitsap

Tumbling Down — Lumberjills can’t find the equalizer in season-ending shutout by the sea

R.A. Long’s Olivia Durrett takes a tumble while a North Kitsap defender prepares to take the ball away during a 2A girls soccer tournament match Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Poulsbo. The Lumberjills saw their season end in a 1-0 loss. — Meegan Reid / Ktsap Sun

 Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com

On a dark and stormy night on the Kitsap Peninsula the worm did not turn the way the Lumberjills would have preferred. Playing on the road Wednesday night in the opening round of the 2A Girls Soccer State Tournament, R.A. Long fell 1-0 to North Kitsap.

It was the third straight season the Jills have seen their season end in the state tournament, a feat that had never before been accomplished by the girls soccer team at Longview’s original high school.

R.A. Long’s Laura Nikolajsen works to keep the ball away from a North Kitsap defender during a 1-0 loss to the Vikings, in a 2A girls soccer tournament conrest Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Poulsbo. — Meegan Reid / Kitsap Sun

That accomplishment, combined with the staggering loss of senior talent following the 2023 season, helped R.A. Long coach Taylor Wallace to keep it all in perspective while making  the long trek home from the shores of the old Salish Sea.

“The season lasted a few weeks longer than we assumed last spring,” Wallace noted. “‘The girls over-performed as a whole. The sum was definitely greater than the parts with this group.”

R.A. Long freshman Josie Sully (11) tries to beat North Kitsap senior Sophia Castillo to a loose ball during a 2A girls soccer state tournament match, Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Poulsbo. The Lumberjills went on to lose 1-0. — Meegan Reid / Kitsap Sun